Many vehicles are designed to transport freight, goods, merchandise, personal property, and other large cargo. Often, these vehicles are arranged to tow a towed vehicle, such as for example a trailer, by attaching the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle, such as through the use of some kind of hitch assembly. The towing industry has developed a number of methods and apparatuses for securing or engaging the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle, such as attaching a trailer to a pick-up truck.
There are many different types of trailer hitches in the art attached to the towing vehicle in a variety of ways depending on the type of towed vehicle and towing vehicle involved. Some of the most common types of hitches include gooseneck, fifth wheel, and rear mounted hitches. For example, towed vehicles may be connected to the towing vehicle by way of a hitch assembly that includes a hitch ball or member secured to the towing vehicle and a ball socket coupling mechanism on the towed vehicle that mounts over the hitch ball. This allows for the towed vehicle to pivot behind the towing vehicle.
Numerous types of hitch balls have been developed to be attached to the bumper or other rear portion of a towing vehicle. The towed vehicle may be equipped with a coupler mechanism that is attached to the towing vehicle by placing the coupler mechanism over the hitch ball and securing the coupler to the hitch ball. Similar apparatus using hitch receivers attached to the rear of the towing vehicle and drawbars may be used to secure towed vehicles to towing vehicles.
Some towed vehicles may be designed to carry heavy loads. Connecting such a towed vehicle to a ball hitch on a bumper of a towing vehicle, however, may be impractical. When a towed vehicle load is heavy as compared to the weight of the towing vehicle, applying the towed vehicle load over or near the rear axle of the towing vehicle may create a more desirable towing condition. In addition, such an arrangement may put much of the force of the towed vehicle load onto structural members of the towing vehicle, such as the frame. This may result in the hitch ball being located in the truck bed.
There are generally two arrangements for securing a towed vehicle to the bed of a towing vehicle—a fifth wheel hitch and a gooseneck hitch. A fifth wheel hitch may be utilized with towed vehicles having a king pin, which may be part of a pin box attached to the towed vehicle. Fifth wheel hitches may generally be attached in a bed of a truck or directly to the frame of the truck in a more permanent manner. Tools, however, may generally be required to remove fasteners and other connectors to install or uninstall a fifth wheel hitch to the bed of a towing vehicle. A gooseneck hitch may be utilized with a towed vehicle having a gooseneck coupler generally coupled to a hitch ball that may be located in the bed of the towing vehicle. The hitch ball may be permanently or removably secured to the frame or bed of the towing vehicle.
The towed vehicle coupler often has a socket portion sized and shaped to receive the hitch ball. The gooseneck coupler may engage the hitch ball to pivotally couple the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle. The gooseneck coupler to hitch ball connection may allow for relative movement between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle as the towing vehicle makes turns, transverses uneven or rough terrain, and passes along inclining and declining roadways.
The hitch ball may be selectively secured to a gooseneck hitch generally attached below the towing vehicle's load bed to the frame of the towing vehicle. This may allow the hitch ball to be removed when not in use, which results in the load bed being capable of being utilized without obstruction. There is not a lot of available room below the load bed of the vehicle. Accordingly, there is a need for a gooseneck hitch that is capable of having a structure and a shape that may be capable of attaching below the load bed.
Due to the significant forces that may be applied to the gooseneck hitch, such gooseneck hitches are most often fabricated from heavy metal pieces that are welded together to form the gooseneck hitch. However, fabricating the gooseneck hitch in this manner may limit the potential shape of the gooseneck hitch. Still further, fabricating a gooseneck hitch in this matter results in the gooseneck hitch being very heavy and large, this may make it difficult to attach to the vehicle.
Therefore, there is a need for a gooseneck hitch that may be of any appropriate shape and size that it fits appropriately on the frame of the towing vehicle below the bed thereof. Further, there is a need for a gooseneck hitch that is attachable to the towing vehicle in an efficient and effective manner. Still further, there is a need for a gooseneck hitch that may be capable of withstanding the significant forces that may be applied to it during operation.